Australian Army Research Centre Seminar Series

The Australian Army hosts professionally renowned guests, commentators and academics to enhance the debate on current and future land warfare issues and topics. As seminars are organised, information on seminar attendance can be found here.

Australia has had it easy: remote from the world's trouble-spots, having no land borders with a potential adversary and a powerful big brother standing by just in case. Australia's security planners have not had to ply their trade with the same degree of diligence as those in less fortunate countries. Yet good times do no...

Matt Brown (pictured in helmet) is an ABC journalist with experience in covering conflicts especially in the Middle East. In this presentation, he relates some stories of his time covering conflict and the influence social media has on bringing these stories into the public eye.

Brigadier Ian Langford, DSC and Bars, is a highly experienced Army officer who provides detail and fidelity to the concept of Accelerated Warfare, a framework for thinking about how the enduring nature of war and its rapidly changing characteristics in this age of social media, artificial intelligence and contemporaneous conflict and competition.

Since 2014 Colonel Pete Connolly has researched in China, PNG, Timor-Leste and Fiji for a PhD investigating Chinese interests in Melanesia. He has sought to understand the deep complexity of Chinese economic, diplomatic and security interests on the ground, and how these interact with the interests of Pacific Islanders.

This presentation will give a brief overview of these Chinese inter...

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is currently facing the most sweeping and comprehensive transformation since at least the 1960s. This presentation will provide an overview of Chinese military reform efforts aimed at turning the PLA into a professional, world-class force. It will focus on recent developments (from 2015), including the wholesale overhaul of the PLA's organisation structure, C2...

Brigadier Andrew Harrison, DSO, MBE discusses the vagaries of warfare in the information age including strategic communication and the ‘unexploited ground’ between kinetic effects such as joint fires /manoeuvre and the virtual battleground of cyberwarfare....

Mr Uzi Rubin is an expert in missile defence within Israel and provides an insight into how innovation is accepted within a defence organisation using his wide knowledge of missile defence and how the Israeli Defence establishment utilised it.

Hear Lieutenant General (Rtd) Sean MacFarland share his experiences from his recent deployments in Syria and Iraq leading the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, and within the US Army's Training and Doctrine Command.

Hear two key commanders present at the operations give their thoughts about the strategic and operational lessons learned from their involvement in the Falklands War. As an example of the small scale type of amphibious operation Australia may have to conduct in the future, this presentation will provide a unique opportunity for contemporary and future planners to hear about the opportunities a...

For more than 40 years, K&R/E response consultancies, have advised clients on how to negotiate the release of kidnap victims safely. Warwick argues that government agencies are inherently unable to achieve success in this area. .This lecture gives a compelling insight into a response to kidnap for ransom.

The early 2000s saw a marked increase in the expeditionary employment of UK amphibious forces. Chief among these was experience of doing expeditionary and amphibious logistics which, for Australia, will always present a challenge.

What are the forces shaping the operating environment since 9/11? In an era of constant competition, can it be argued that the character of war is ever changing? What challenges do those two questions pose for contemporary military forces and other national security providers? Colonel Ian Langford’s presentation offers some thought provoking insights on this complex issue.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will drive major changes in the character of war. It is creating a family of small, smart, and cheap weapons that will provide even small states with capabilities that until recently were the preserve of major powers.

Studies examining mental disorder and terrorist involvement have a convoluted history. Early studies were correctly debunked on methodological grounds, but the existing consensus, that mental disorder never plays a role in terrorism, is likely to be false when we consider the complexity and diversity of the problem.

By the middle of the 21st century, military forces will contain tens of thousands of robots, and the decisions of human commanders at every level will be informed and shaped by artificial intelligence. While the future is impossible to predict, trends in technology and warfare make this a near certainly. Military organisations must plan now for this new era of warfare. Governments must be prepa...

The US Army and Marine Corps have begun the transition to a new concept of war fighting which has important implications for Australia. Multi-Domain Battle is an attempt to gain advantage over adversaries by simultaneously leveraging the potential of all the domains of war. With this concept, the land forces of the United States plan to defeat a rising China and turn back a resurgent Russia. Wh...

In military roles, Charles served in Europe, Central America, Asia and the Middle East and his diverse experience ranges from RAF pilot training, through four years commanding Baluchi troops with the Omani Army, to operational counterinsurgency training. As a reservist he has served with the Parachute Regiment in the UK, the Commandos in Australia and commanded an Infantry Battalion.

One thing that occupies the minds of a lot of people in the ADF, is the future of force design. One of the key considerations for future force design is, what are the mission sets that we are preparing our people for?

That's where our seminar today comes in because we're speaking about the train, advise and assist mission set. As our speaker points out, the ADF don't currently have for...

In a surprise reversal of positions, the United States appears set to pursue a more revisionist foreign policy over the coming years, while China has signalled its intension to pursue regionalist and globalist economic and security policies. Dr Lockyer will examine what these changes in US foreign policy will mean for regional dynamics, stability and security and discuss how Australia’s defence...

This seminar explores:- The impact of contemporary and emerging media technologies on the decision making processes within Government, particularly in the National Security arena. - Insight into the challenges for political and policy discourse arising from the unrelenting pressures at the intersection of the 24hr News Cycle and New Media. - The nuances and dilemmas of providi...